Effects of Antimalarial Drugs on the Motor and Behavioral Programs in Drosophila melanogaster 

Kwikiriza Emmaculate

School of Pharmacy, Kampala International University, Uganda

ABSTRACT

Anti-malarial drugs have been used for the control and prevention of malarial in several developing countries including Uganda. However, these drugs have been shown to cause neurological damage in laboratory animals thus there is need to study the safety of newly developed Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapies (ACT’s) in Uganda. The objective of the study was to assess motor and behavioral effects of selected anti-malarial drugs in Drosophila melanogaster. Anti-malarial drugs (Fansidar, Chloroquine, Artesunate, Mefloquine and Quinine) were fed on starved Drosophila melanogaster wild type flies on filter paper for a period of 60 minutes. The grooming-aggression, feeding and locomotion assay were performed in triplicate and One way ANOVA was performed. Artesunate showed the highest aggressive and grooming behavior (P=0.021). Generally female flies fed faster (P = 0.000) than male flies and the Artesunate group (P = 0.001). The mean performance index for locomotion was shown to be highest in female Drosophila flies in the study 011. Artesunate. Mefloquine showed the lowest mean performance index of 0.31 in male Drosophila flies. In between group comparisons showed there was a strong significant (P =0.000) in the male flies compared to the females (P = 0.584). Anti-malarial drugs especially Artesunate had significant effects on feeding, grooming, aggression and locomotion behaviour in drosophila melanogaster through its interaction with specific neurotransmitters and neurons in the brain that are responsible for expression of behaviour. Mefloquine reduced the locomotion activity of these flies. Although Artesunate has shown increased effect on behavior in flies, the molecular mechanism of these effects should be studied in depth using the available genetic tools in Drosophila.

Keywords: Drosophila melanogaster, Anti-malarial drugs, Behavior, Feeding, Aggression

CITE AS: Kwikiriza Emmaculate (2024). Effects of Antimalarial Drugs on the Motor and Behavioral Programs in Drosophila melanogaster RESEARCH INVENTION JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES 3(1):17-26.